The Riigikogu discussed increasing children’s physical activity as a matter of significant national importance
During the deliberation of the matter of significant national importance “Increasing children's physical activity to improve mental and physical health“, initiated by the Social Affairs Committee, it was stressed that the physical activity of children and young people was very important for their mental and physical health.
Reports were made by member of the Social Affairs Committee Mihkel Lees; representative of Move Lab at the Institute of Sport Sciences and Physiotherapy of the University of Tartu Merike Kull; Director General of the Estonian Defence Resources Agency Anu Rannaveski, and Acting President of the Estonian Olympic Committee Gerd Kanter.
Member of the committee Mihkel Lees began his report by stating that children were not physically active enough. “The World Health Organisation recommends that children get at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. In Estonia, less than half of children meet this recommendation,” he said. “This has consequences. Approximately 78% of schoolchildren experience health problems every week. Already in the first grade, more than one in four children are overweight or obese, and by the fourth grade, their number rises to one in three. At the same time, nearly 70% of young people are unable to meet the minimum requirements of the Defence Forces’ physical fitness test at the start of their conscript service,” he noted. He added that these figures reflected not only the physical capabilities of children and young people, but also their health and future prospects.
Lees pointed out that it had been scientifically proven that regular physical activity improved concentration, academic performance, and mental well-being. Physically active children experience fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression and cope better with daily stress. “Physical activity is not just a sporting activity; it is one of the most efficient preventive measures we have for mental health problems. The same applies to physical health. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and many other chronic diseases,” he said.
The member of the Social Affairs Committee described the ongoing initiatives, including the physical activity action plan, the movement education reform in schools, the “Schools in Motion” programme led by the University of Tartu’s Move Lab, and the “Sports at School” programme developed by the Estonian Olympic Committee. Lees proposed expanding these programmes to all schools in Estonia. He also stressed the need to monitor children’s physical activity and to place greater focus on increasing physical activity among preschool children. Lees said that at the same time the central government and local governments had to continue investing into public space that supported physical activity.
Lees also pointed out that the state currently invested less than one million euros per year in these programmes in total. “At the same time, estimates indicate that full implementation of these programmes would require an investment of around 13 million euros per year. I can see that some of my colleague’s eyes have gone wide. You understand that this is not a small sum. This will need funding from both the central government and local governments, and most likely also support from European funds. I know that the Ministry of Culture is already planning this, for instance for the “Sports at School” programme. But if we know that every euro invested in prevention will bring us about 16 euros in return, then this money is actually being spent wisely,” he said.
In her presentation, Representative of Move Lab at the Institute of Sport Sciences and Physiotherapy of the University of Tartu Merike Kull said that low levels of physical activity were very costly for society. “Our Finnish neighbours have calculated the cost to the state. The cost of insufficient physical activity to the state has been estimated at nearly 3.2 billion – billion! – euros per year. Therefore, insufficient physical activity is not only a health problem, but also an economic challenge.”
Kull noted that parents should not be left alone with the problem of children’s insufficient physical activity, but that solutions had to be systemic. She gave an overview of four areas where children’s and young people’s physical activity could be most efficiently influenced in a systemic way. These are schools, organised sport, public space, and data-based decision-making.
Kull pointed out that it was in schools that it was possible to reach all children over a long period of time. “If we want to systematically improve the physical activity of children and young people, then movement must be a natural part of every child’s and young person’s school day. The ‘Schools in Motion’ programme is one of the evidence-based solutions that offers a comprehensive, systemic approach to the whole school day and school environment – from how the school day is organised and whether there are opportunities for movement, to creating movement opportunities across all elements of the school day, including school activities, hobby activities, and even active commuting to school,” she said. Kull added that physical activity also supported mental health, relationships between students, and thereby overall school satisfaction and motivation to learn. “This is also confirmed by a large-scale study with a sample of over 100,000 children, which shows that more opportunities for physical activity during the school day are associated with better relationships and greater enjoyment of school across all age groups,” she said. “Therefore, our first proposal is that all children and young people in Estonia should learn in schools that support physical activity and health. To achieve this, the ‘Schools in Motion’ programme should reach most schools in Estonia”.
According to Kull, the second important area affecting all children and young people is physical education. Estonia’s physical education curriculum is one of the strongest in Europe, but the curriculum alone is not enough. The speaker pointed out that while primary school students had three physical education lessons per week, from sixth grade the number of lessons decreased to two, and in upper secondary school there was on average less than one lesson per week. “It is not surprising that when upper secondary students graduate, they do not meet the minimum requirements of the physical fitness test,” she noted. “The third school stage and upper secondary school are particularly critical, and we need quick solutions there. There is no system-level support to ensure that children are healthy and strong and that their physical abilities develop.”
As a third important area, Kull highlighted participation in organised sport. On the one hand, the problem is that children from families with the most difficult economic situation participate the least. This shows that access to hobby education in Estonia is not equal for all children. On the other hand, a significant number of children stay away from sport because they do not wish to participate in competitive sport. According to Kull, transition between competitive sport and recreational sport should be smooth and possible.
Fourth, according to Kull, public space should support active movement and sports for all age groups. “This means safe school routes, cycling paths, schoolyards, and various play and activity areas that encourage movement both during and after the school day, as well as alone and with family. This is also an answer to how we can support parents,” she noted. Finally, Kull highlighted the importance of data-based decision-making, namely the need to launch a nationwide monitoring system for children’s and young people’s physical abilities.
Director General of the Defence Resources Agency Anu Rannaveski confirmed that national defence was not merely military capability; it was the resilience of society. “This means that our defence capability depends significantly and directly on the state of our people’s health, and especially on young people’s physical readiness, mental resilience, and willingness to contribute to something greater than themselves. Young people are the ones whose task it will be to ensure the sustainability of our reserve army”, she said.
Rannaveski gave an overview of a comprehensive study conducted among conscripts and noted that only a quarter of them were able, at the beginning of their service, to meet the physical fitness standards expected by the Defence Forces. “Although by the end of service nearly two-thirds are able to meet them, this shortfall still means a significant compromise in ensuring actual defence capability,” she noted.
Rannaveski also pointed out that, based on health assessments, nearly 5,000 young men each year are either not called up for conscript service or granted a deferment in order to treat a health condition. In both cases, the main reasons continue to be mental and behavioural disorders, as well as musculoskeletal diseases. In addition, approximately 10,000 call-up selectees undergo a health assessment each year. This means that, over the past three years, one in five assessments has resulted in a finding that the call-up selectee was either temporarily or permanently unfit for conscript service because of a mental health problem.
Director of the Defence Resources Agency noted that the most worrying trend was the polarisation of young people into two extremes. “At one end, there are young people whose life has become too comfortable and passive. They are not physically active and lack interests, responsibilities, and social skills because nothing is expected of them. As conscripts, they are characterised by a lack of motivation, anxiety, difficulties with adaptation and concentration, low resilience, and difficulty making an effort. At the other end, there are young people expected to give their best at all times – good grades, constant training, self-development, and social success. As conscripts, they show signs of burnout, anxiety, sleep problems, and difficulties adapting. The low psychological resilience is what the two extremes have in common, as part of society places no particular demands on young people, while the other part exerts constant pressure,” she explained.
“A strong state does not only mean a well-armed state. A strong state means a society that is prepared to endure physically, mentally, and within a shared value space. Each of us individually, and all of us together should ask ourselves what we can do to ensure that the next generation is stronger than the previous one. Taking care of young people’s health and their mental and physical resilience is a shared responsibility of society as a whole, just like national defence,” said Rannaveski.
The Acting President of the Estonian Olympic Committee Gerd Kanter said that Estonia was facing a silent but devastating crisis, the solution to which required a movement revolution. In his report, Kanter pointed out that physical activity was not just about the muscles – it was also a vital fuel for brain development. “Dopamine and endorphins play an important role – they are the brain’s natural way of relieving stress. A child who does not engage in physical activity is biologically vulnerable to anxiety and depression,” he noted.
According to Kanter, the role of parents in encouraging children to be physically active has been overlooked and underestimated. “If physical activity is not valued at home, and if a parent’s only way of spending their free time is in front of a screen, no school reform will be able to get a child physically active. The state must also support and educate families. An active lifestyle and spending time in fresh air should be a normal part of family life, not a punishment or obligation,” he stressed, and highlighted the need for digital hygiene. “A gadget-free school day is not about punishing children. It is the protection of their mental and physical health. If we take screens away during breaks, we will give children back their creativity, social interaction, and need for physical movement. By limiting screens, we force the brain to seek new stimuli from the physical world,” he said, and called for introducing gadget restrictions in schools at the legislative level.
Kanter also acknowledged the achievements of the “Schools in Motion” programme, whose changes increased children’s daily step counts by thousands without any coercion, and called for the creation of a “Kindergarten in Motion” programme. He also highlighted the contribution of the programme “Sports at School”, and the need to introduce it in the first stage of study. “The programme “Sports at School” in the first stage of study is our best weapon against inequality. It ensures that even children from disadvantaged backgrounds or remote areas receive professional physical education and lifelong habits,” he said.
Kanter stressed that one of the key issues in terms of building a habit of physical activity was ensuring a safe route to school. “If we want to encourage children’s independent physical activity habits, the environment and infrastructure have a very significant impact on this. Driving children door to door by car, the so-called personal taxi service, takes away their last bit of daily basic physical activity. At the same time, walking or cycling to school can provide for up to half of a child’s daily physical activity needs,” he said, and stressed the need for proper cycling paths and bicycle parking facilities around schools.
Jaanus Karilaid (Isamaa), Kristina Šmigun-Vähi (Reform Party), Tanel Kiik (Social Democratic Party), Arvo Aller (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Tanel Tein, Timo Suslov, Anti Poolamets ja Jüri Jaanson took the floor during the debate.
Photos (will be uploaded after the sitting, Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
The video recording of the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
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